"He injured his leg for the country, and what are you doing? You laugh at him and look down on him. Now that a good girl is finally willing to be with him, you want to steal her away and ruin his marriage."

"Are you all so unwilling to see him do well? Is this how you treat a soldier who was wounded for his country?"

Zhao Youcai couldn't hold back any longer; he couldn't bear to see his brother Gu's hard-won happiness destroyed by someone else.

Lin Qing patted Zhao Youcai on the shoulder and said, "I don't know how you view a soldier who was injured for the country, but he is my boyfriend. He was injured for the country, and I am proud of him. He deserves to live a better life, not be hated and despised by everyone. Because without these people who contribute to the country, we wouldn't have the peaceful life we ​​have now. You have no right to despise him or hate him."

"Clap clap clap..."

Before they knew it, a crowd of onlookers had gathered around them, and everyone applauded when they heard what Lin Qing and Zhao Youcai said.

"Yes, well said. Soldiers are great, and we should respect them."

"Yes, they have contributed to our country and deserve our respect."

"Those who insult soldiers should apologize."

"Yes, apologize. Don't let them leave until they apologize."

"An apology is too lenient; they should be arrested."

Seeing the angry looks on the faces of those around them, Li Hongmei and the older woman exchanged a glance and quietly tried to slip away! But they were caught red-handed.

"Where do you think you're going? Apologize right now!"

"Everyone surround them, don't let them escape."

"I'm sorry, I was wrong. I didn't mean to look down on soldiers. I just wanted to introduce this young lady to my nephew."

Seeing that she couldn't escape, the woman quickly apologized, still trying to explain herself.

"Do you know you're ruining a military marriage? You'll get shot."

A young man who seemed to know a little about the law threatened them.

"Yes, that young woman has already said she has a boyfriend, a soldier. And you're still advising her to break up. How could you be so mean?"

"She wasn't trying to introduce a girl to her nephew. She just wanted his bicycle."

An elderly woman who witnessed Lin Qing buying a bicycle said.

"I knew it! Why did I have to introduce my nephew to someone who already had a partner? Turns out, he was after her bicycle."

"Pah...shameless!"

"I'm sorry, it's my fault, I apologize. I shouldn't have ruined the military marriage."

Seeing that the crowd was getting angrier and angrier, and hearing that disrupting a military marriage could result in being shot, the woman quickly apologized out of fear.

"And you, young lady, you also need to apologize."

Seeing that the older woman had apologized, the onlookers pointed at Li Hongmei like a victorious rooster and said...

"Qingqing, you know that's not what I meant. I was just worried about you."

Li Hongmei, somewhat frightened by the onlookers, looked pleadingly at Lin Qing and explained. She felt she was acting in Lin Qing's best interest. How could that cripple be worthy of Lin Qing? She said this because she didn't want Lin Qing to fall into a pit of fire. Lin Qing should understand her; after all, she was doing it for Lin Qing's own good.

"You clearly look down on my partner, but now you say it's for my own good. Should I thank you for looking down on my partner?"

Lin Qing had no idea what Li Hongmei was thinking. She had just said such harsh things, so why would she speak up for her?

"Stop talking nonsense and apologize now, or you're not leaving!"

The onlookers weren't buying Lin Hongmei's act; they had all heard what she had just said.

"Yes, apologize quickly, or we'll send her to the police station."

"Yes, take it to the police station. Who's going to make the trip?"

"No, don't go. I apologize, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have looked down on soldiers. Please forgive me."

When Li Hongmei heard that she was going to find the police, and saw that Lin Qing ignored her and the old lady had apologized and left, she was so frightened that she quickly apologized as well.

After the matter was resolved, the crowd quickly dispersed. In a corner of the department store, a woman in her thirties, dressed in tattered clothes, with a sallow complexion and a thin frame, wiped away her tears after seeing the crowd disperse. She gave Lin Qing a deep look before silently walking into the crowd and leaving.

At another corner, two middle-aged men glanced at each other and then left.

Accompanied by Zhao Youcai, Lin Qing registered her bicycle. After seeing Zhao Youcai off, Lin Qing went to the department store.

The department stores here are much larger and have a wider selection than the commune's supply and marketing cooperatives. Items like the "three turns and one sound" (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument), as well as ready-made clothes and shoes, which the supply and marketing cooperatives didn't sell, are available here.

Lin Qing bought Gu Nanxun two pairs of shoes and two sets of clothes. Although she had them made by Aunt Liu, Gu Nanxun still didn't have enough clothes. Then Lin Qing bought some steamed cakes and pastries before leaving the department store.

As Lin Qing passed by the bookstore, she thought about the college entrance exam 10 years from now. Although she hadn't decided whether to take the exam or not, that didn't stop her from studying in advance! She'd only be 28 in 10 years; going to university wouldn't be too late. And since Nan Xun was free right now, she figured she'd buy it so he could pass the time!

So Lin Qing went to the bookstore again.

"Big sister, do you have any textbooks here?"

"Yes, find it yourself!"

Lin Qing spent a long time browsing in the bookstore and found all the textbooks from elementary school to high school.

Why did you buy so many textbooks?

The bookstore clerk noticed Lin Qing had picked up so many textbooks and asked her curiously.

“My younger siblings need it, and I also want to look at it when I have free time, so I just bought a set to save myself the trouble of looking for it when I need it.”

After leaving the bookstore, Lin Qing went to the scrap metal recycling station! This place is known as the scrap metal recycling station that every time traveler has to visit. Lin Qing thought she must sign in here to make the most of her three hard-earned sign-ins.

"System, check-in"

"Congratulations, host, for signing in and receiving a pair of rose chairs."

"System, check-in"

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained a chaise lounge."

"System, check-in"

"Congratulations, host, you have obtained ten pounds of old newspapers."

What the heck is this old newspaper? I can't believe I can sign in for something like this! But the first two pieces of furniture, the rose chair and the chaise lounge, are nice pieces that could fit in the thatched hut.

"Sir, may I go inside and find some newspapers? I'd like to find some old newspapers to use as wallpaper."

An old man was reclining on a chair in the scrap metal yard, slowly fanning himself with a large palm-leaf fan. Hearing Lin Qing speak, he looked up at her and said, "Go inside! Don't take what you shouldn't."

"Understood, sir, don't worry."

Lin Qing made this promise as she walked inside.

Inside, the place was about 40 to 50 meters long and more than 10 meters wide. As far as the eye could see, there were piles of scraps of various sizes, like small mountains. So Lin Qing went to a place where the old man couldn't see her and began her treasure hunt.